FTL Drives
There are several FTL Drives currently used in the galaxy, with an ever expanding list included here. The 21st century 'experts' at Wikipedia also have an Article about Propulsion Engines, both non-FTL and FTL Conventional (Non-FTL) Chemical Chemical Rockets are Engines that puts oxidizer and Fuel together allowing the fuel to burn and propel the rocket 'forward'. Normally the Fuel contains Kerosene and more fuels. While the Rocket's Fuel is burning, the acceleration is high however, the rocket engine is extremely inefficient. Pros * The rocket is simple to design * There is no need for electricity in the rocket * The Rocket can be turned by the engine semi-easily Cons * The quick consumption of Rocket Fuel * The amount fuel required to launch into orbit is very high * The Fuel weighs the rocket down very much Ion Ion Engines are thrusters that use ions to propel spacecraft. They are usually powered either by solar panels or nuclear power, and provide weak but constant bursts of thrust that are usually fueled by either Xenon or Hydrogen gas. Pros * Cheap to make, produce, and repair * Can be used indefinitely if linked with a hydrogen scoop * Can use inertia to propel a space craft to near light-speed Cons * Have a very low thrust-to-weight ratio * Takes time to accelerate * Low maneuverability Solar Sail Solar Sails rely on solar wind to be propelled and to travel, which is caught on a large, ultra-thin mirrors. A similar scenario can be accomplished with the use of lasers, or high power lights. These second methods are used much more often and are the type used for interstellar travel. Pros * Cheap to produce and easy to repair * Is one of the most easy ways to travel interstellarly Cons * Travel is interfered by any use of thrusters * Mirror can be easily ripped or destroyed * Not able to travel past light speed Anti-matter Anti-matter engines are one, if not the, most efficient methods of travel in existence, though also one of the most difficult to harness. Made by producing anti-matter and annihilating it by colliding it with normal matter; it harnesses this by pushing the heat and energy produced out of the spacecraft, which results in a large amount of thrust. Pros * Produces a large amount of trust * Produces large amounts on energy Cons * Very dangerous; if damaged can result in a large explosion * Hard to produce anti-matter FTL Drives Warp Drive Warp Drives are the second-most used FTL drive in use, and one of the most efficient. Warp drives do not actually transmit the ship into another dimension or use gravitational wells, but allow the ship to move many times faster that the speed of light on our plane of existence. This does mean that ships using Warp Drives can encounter each other (While very, very improbable), and traveling in formation is much easier. The various Warp Speeds mean that it is great for casual travel between colonized systems, or exploring systems close but unexplored. The fact that it is technically only a distinct speed means that traveling large distances takes a very long amount of time and is not advised. Pros * Very common, easy to repair * Not limited by routes or paths * Predictable and reliable Cons * Traveling long distances takes years * Can be damaged by physical objects while traveling Hyperdrive Slipspace Drive Slipstream Drive Gravitational Well Drives Wormhole Manipulator It is a Krasniov tube, only it changes the location of the wormhole on the other side. Krasnikov Tube This is used by bending spacetime and creating a tunnel from one side to the other, creating a wormhole. It would be like taking two papers and poking a pencil through the two. and throwing a small BB bullet through the two holes, the paper is space and the rocket the BB bullet. Pros * It sends you from one end of space to another quickly * It wastes little fuel to do the travelling Cons * It requires massive amounts of energy to open a wormhole * Wormholes are very unstable * If the wormhole breaks, a black hole forms Stationary Transporters Mass Relay Using the power of Neutronium (Element Zero) subjected to an electric field. It can cause a Momentary 'crumple' in spacetime causing the thing inside of it to teleport to another Mass Relay. Pros * It is almost instantaneous teleportation Cons * It's hard to construct * Requires massive amounts of Neutronium * Neutronium is found only in Neutron stars Star Gate Jump Gate Miscellaneous Infinite Improbability Drive (IID) Created using an 'Finite Improbability Drive' (FID) rather than mucking about in hyperspace, it sends your ship to EVERY point in every universe and time to then send you to one Perfectly random point every time, the only control available is where in time and how random the location is. When at full speed the improbability is two to the power of 276,709 to one against. Pros * It is good for when you are very bored and need an Adventure * It can cause hilarious situations * It requires a little Energy * It needs only one thing to build an IID Cons * It is HUGE * It can cause people being torn apart in improbability * The Computational power required is massive * You might end up inside a planet or inside a person. Trachyonic Field Drive It uses particles that move faster than light to send the Machine through time, the location in time is completely random.